2020-07-27

The Reunions was officially selected for SIFF Golden Goblet Awards: Remember to go home often

As the official film selected for the Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) Golden Goblet Awards, the new film The Reunions directed by Dapeng held its premiere today in Shanghai Film City. The Reunions is Dapeng\'s third feature film. Different from his previous comedies, the film presents a typical story of a Chinese family with a brand-new experimental narrative structure. At the post-screening meeting, when asked if he wanted to achieve crossover, Dapeng explained that he did not agree this statement, but hoped that through such an attempt, he could break the boundary of the film type and truly sympathize with the audience on the content. "Although the shooting form of this movie likes personal image, I believe it is the common experience of the first generation with the only child in a family like us, and this is the kind of flexible relationship that families weave together."

The movie The Reunions tells the story of a comedy director who returned to his hometown in the northeast countryside of China to make a movie about how his family will have a new year, but encountered a series of accidents. The director\'s grandmother is the original leading role. But she suddenly died of illness. So the focus shifted from grandmother to Wang Jixiang, the "third uncle" who had been living with her. However, the role of Wang Jixiang\'s daughter "Lili", originally scheduled to be played by actor Liu Lu. But suddenly the real Lili returned home. As a result, two "Lili" appeared in the film... The film was shot without a script. Except Liu Lu, all the other roles were played by Dapeng\'s family.

Speaking of the original intention of making The Reunions, director Dapeng said that when he returned to his hometown in 2016 to shoot City of Rock, he had already had the idea. "I have lived with my grandmother since I was a child, and I had deep feelings with her. At that time, I decided to shoot a film with grandma as the main character in the story." However, Dapeng was caught off guard by grandma\'s accidental death. "At that time, I thought I would make grandma\'s movie and see her again soon, so I didn\'t even have a good farewell with her." Grandma\'s death turned Dapeng\'s own wish into the wish of the whole family. Even the villagers in their hometown volunteered to take part in the shooting of The Reunions. For this situation, Dapeng recalled: "No one raised any objection during the film shooting process. Among them were farmers, taxi drivers and migrant workers. Everyone trusted me very much and performed over and over again in front of the lens, which made me very grateful and touched."

The Reunions can be regarded as two parts - empty and fact. Dapeng combines fiction and documentary shooting methods based on the real story of his family. It also tests the director\'s ability to control the narrative rhythm of the film. Producer Chen Zhixi revealed that Dapeng often saw things and thought about people during editing. He repeatedly reviews the 80 hours\' shooting materials, and he was still unwilling to cut off any frame of pictures, which also delayed post-production for four years.

In the part of audience communication, one man\'s eyes were moist and he was still immersed in the plot. He said that many pictures in the movie were familiar, which reminded him of his deceased elders and tears fell down. The audience\'s story also resonated with others. Family will always be a fetter that the Chinese cannot let go and hide. As Dapeng said: "If you watch this movie and want to go home often, this is its value."